This invention relates generally to the field of urinal devices and more specifically to female urinal funnel.
There are circumstances where a woman must urinate when not having access to a standard toilet. One such circumstance is when a woman is confined to a bed such as in a hospital environment.
Currently, most female hospital patients who can not make their way to a standard toilet, are fitted with a catheter that is inserted into the vagina and is then attached by a hose to a urine collection bag. There have also been external catheters designed that make use of a funnel type device to be held in place around the labia majora to direct urine to an outlet hose and collection bag.
Patents granted within this category include D418918 by Cunningham, 5893176 by Magiera et al, 4771484 by Mozell, 4270539 by Michaud, 4846819 by Welch and D0466210 by Levinson. However there is a deficiency in the prior technology in that the effective means of physically holding the funnel shape firmly around the labia majora during use is compromised by the fact that the design of the funnel does not automatically guide the user to the most effective finger placement locations on the flange of the funnel and hence, increases the risk of urine leaking out of the inlet edge of the funnel thereby creating discomfort for the user and extra work for the nurse or care giver.